One week later I had a one giant suitcase packed and a backpack stuffed full of odds and ends I thought I would need to take to school. Things like pens, pencils, folders, papers, binders, and a planner I probably would never use. Gemstone Academy's website said they didn't require uniforms, thank goodness, I would have cried if I had to wear the same thing every day, so I had plenty of clothes packed. I practically had my whole wardrobe stuffed in my suitecase, minus the ballgowns and other fancy clothes because that seemed unnecessary for school. I also had a few of my favorite books packed for when I had free time. I knew there would be a library though, so I didn't need to bring that many books, just my favorites.
I sat on my bed staring at my phone. I had my text messages for Lazarus open because I still hadn't told him I was going to school. I wasn't exactly sure what to say. I typed out a text saying I would be attending Gemstone Academy and would tell him the details why the next time I saw him. I also told him when my Christmas break would be so we could sort all of that out as well. Shortly after I pressed send, Grey came into my room.
"Time to go, Princess," Grey said. Two more butlers came in after him to grab my suitcase and my backpack.
I got up and followed Grey out of my room. "Grey, will you miss me when I'm at school?"
"No," He said bluntly.
"You're the worst butler ever," I said.
"I know," Grey said with laughter in his eyes that made me smile. I was going to miss him too while I was gone.
My parents, James, and Tori stood in the entrance way. I walked up to my parents and the butlers took my things out to the limo.
"The limo will take you to the airport and then when you land in Mutualan, another limo will take you to Gemstone Academy," My father said.
"Sounds good," I said.
"Oh dear, we will miss you," my mother said hugging me. Oh really?? Then why you sending me away woman?? It's not like any of this was MY idea. Honestly, parents made no sense sometimes.
"Bye, Elizabeth," My Father said hugging me next.
When my father let go of me Tori ran up and hugged me. "Will you buy me something from Mutualan if you get the chance?"
"We will see," I said escaping from her vice grip. I'm not sure why she thought I'd have any time to go anywhere to buy her anything. I don't think the students were allowed to leave the school grounds, but hey, who was I to make Tori upset right now?
James was the last person to approach me. "Good luck," He said reaching out to shake my hand.
"You too," I said taking his hand and gripping it tightly. I knew neither of us were going to back down from this challenge. We both wanted the crown, and we were both going to go after it.
"We have to go, Princess," The limo driver said to me.
I said one last goodbye to my family and got in the limo. I looked out of the back window until I could no longer see my castle.
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About six hours later I was sitting in another limo. The limo driver was a big black bald guy named Steve. Steve said the school was about an hour and a half away from the airport. What Steve didn't tell me was that it was apparently located in butt fuck nowhere. We have been driving for about an hour now and all I could see were trees, trees, and more trees. And an occasional deer or squirrel.
"Is this school invisible or something? All I see is trees," I said.
The limo driver chuckled. "You'll be able to see it soon, Princess. I promise it'll be worth it."
I scoffed. "Doubt it."
But a half hour later towers came into view. My jaw dropped in amazement when we came to the front gates. I couldn't help myself, because the school at the end of the long driveway behind the gates was a frickin' castle. The white walls had gold trimmings and silver gargoyles. I wasn't sure why a school needed gargoyles, but it was cool. It looked like the place had about five stories and three large towers. I closed my mouth and leaned back in my seat when I caught the limo driver smirking at me in the rear-view mirror. I crossed my arms to show him I was uninterested.
"Kinda like Hogwarts, huh?" He said.
"No. There's no magic here," I said.
Steve chuckled again. "You'd be surprised."
Okay, Steve was officially nuts.
Steve pulled up to the front of the castle. Other students were already mingling out front. I got out of the limo and waited for Steve to get my luggage. I actually recognized some of these kids from surrounding countries. I spotted Princess Kate, from Speck, and even the son of the duke of Grains. The other kids I didn't recognize were probably kids from really frickin wealthy families or further away countries. I read on the Gemstone Academy website that any student was allowed to come here, but with how high the tuition price is, I assumed only wealthy kids would be here.
"Well Princess, I'm leaving now," Steve said to me.
"Okay, thanks for the ride," I said shaking his hand.
"No problem. And have a good school year."
Steve left and I started to haul my things up to the front of the school where two men were standing. The one was probably in his 50s. His hair was a gray/blonde. His blue eyes were covered by square glasses and his thin frame wore a brand new gray crisp suit with able tie that matched his eyes. I could tell he was a professional man, but also nice.
The other man was beautiful. There's just no other way to put it, so it was too bad he looked about thirty. His long golden blonde hair was back in a braid. He was an average height for a guy, standing a few inches taller than me. I'd guess about 5'7. He was wearing black long dress pants and a short-sleeved polo shirt so I caught a glimpse of his arm muscles. He had gold eyes that matched his pretty golden sun kissed skin. I've never seen anyone with gold eyes before, and they were staring at me. Probably because I was openly staring at him. I looked back to the older guy, blushing furiously.
"What's your name, Princess?" The older guy asked.
How did he know I was a princess? Did he just assume? Or did he just call all girls here princesses, because this was a school for royalty? Either way, it worked for me. "Elizabeth Huntress," I answered.
At the sound of my name the pretty man raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Really?" He asked.
"Yeah, why?"
"We've heard good things about your family," The older guy said glaring at the younger one.
I had a feeling that wasn't it at all, but I couldn't figure out what else it could be, and I didn't have the guts to push the issue any further.
"I'm headmaster Krail, and this is Assistant Headmaster Elridge. He's an ass don't mind him."
"Hey! Don't call me an ass in front of our students!" Elridge said turning towards Krail and balling his hands into fists.
Krail shrugged. "But it's true."
I didn't know how to react to this situation. I was astounded that the headmaster called his assistant an ass right in front of me. The way the assistant reacted was kind of childish and quite amusing, but I didn't think laughing would be appropriate, so I tried my best to keep my face neutral.
"The dorms are located on the third floor," Headmaster Krail said now addressing me again.
"Thank you," I said starting to head past them.
"And have a good year," Elridge said no longer angry. When I turned to look at him he had a hint of a smile. Damn. Too bad he was so much older than me, or else I'd figure out a way to get that man for myself.
"Thanks, I'll try," I said now walking away from them.
There were even more students inside of the castle. The entrance way was vast with suits of armor and portraits hung up on the walls. It felt like I had been transported back to the renaissance. Across from the entrance there were two floor to ceiling doors open showing a very large dining room filled with tons of long wooden tables. Stair cases lead up and down on the right and there was a hallway in the middle. On the other side there was one large hallway. There weren't any kids standing in that hallway, at all. Well, that's kind of weird. What was up with that hallway, then? Oh, who knows, maybe it was just the bad part of the school. Maybe I'd get to find out later.
I wasn't exactly sure how I was supposed to find my way around this castle without getting lost. I mean, all the headmaster told me was that the dorms were on the third floor, but he didn't say where on the third floor, or what staircase to take. Honestly, he should've given me a map. The good news was I saw people with luggage like me, so I was able to follow them up to the third floor.
The third floor wasn't anything like the main floor. The floors here were carpeted unlike the stone downstairs. There weren't any portraits, but there were chandeliers hanging from the ceiling every few feet. So, it looked like a really fancy hotel.
I finally found my room that I was assigned. I had received an email a few days ago that the room I was assigned to was 312. It turns out room 312 was at the very end of the hall by the bathrooms. So, it was convenient and gross all at the same time. I didn't have to go far to go to the bathroom, but then again, I'd be right by the nasty bathroom smell. Lovely. Nothing could be completely perfect, now could it?
The door to room 312 was open and three girls sat inside on the beds. It appeared that I was the last one to get here. There were four beds in the room and two of them were against each wall with a dresser on one side of them and a bed side table on the other. Lamps and digital alarm clocks sat on each bedside table. I stepped into the room and all three of the girl's heads turned to look me.
"Hey, it's our last newbie," The one girl said. She had black hair with blue tips in a spiky pixie cut. I noticed that she had a nose ring and literally every inch of her ears were pierced. She was also really muscular and bulky. Holy shit this frightening chick could kill me with one punch.
"The name's Zoey, and I'm a second year," The big scary girl said.
"I'm Elizabeth. What are you doing in a room full of first years then?" I asked. It seemed kind of weird to me.
Zoey shrugged. "That's just how it worked out I guess."
"I'm Blair," One of the other girls said. She had long black hair and striking facial features. She was beautiful and her make-up was on point. She had that perfect winged eyeliner and natural eye shadow that complimented her hazel eyes.
"I'm Lilia," The final girl said. She was small, almost smaller than me but not quite. She had wispy light blonde hair, so light it was almost white. She was also really pale, it made her light blue eyes pop.
"Nice to meet you all," I said. "Are you all royals?"
"Nah, my parents are rich and they just wanted to get rid of me," Zoey said. Well, that explained her appearance. She screamed rebellious teenager.
"I'm next in line for my country," Blair said. "I feel like this school is a waste of my time." Oh, so that's how this girl was. She thinks she's all that and a bag of chips, which also explained her appearance.
"I'm just a daughter of a duke, the Duke of Flank," Lilia said. I noticed her voice was light and airy, which is the exact voice I imagined her to have.
"So, you've already been here for a year," Blair said to Zoey. "How's the school? Is it any good?"
"It's a school, what do you expect?" Zoey asked. "Just because it's fancy doesn't mean it's better."
"Oh, I think this place could be quite interesting," Lilia said. "I can't wait to explore everything."
"Well, I guess you'll all have to judge the school for yourselves," Zoey said flopping down on her bed. She took the bed in the corner on the right furthest from the door. "Don't just take my word for it."
It looked like Lilia and Blair had claimed the beds on the other wall, so I took the bed next to Zoey. I started to unpack and so did Lilia and Blair. Zoey was lying on her bed reading a magazine. I guess she already unpacked, but then I spotted her suitcase open on the floor next to her bed, still filled with stuff. So nope, she did not unpack yet. She just, unsurprisingly, didn't give a damn.
I guess I got decent roommates. We were all a very diverse group. Tough Zoey, bitchy Blair, gentle Lilia, and me. Not sure what I was, but here I am. I guess for now I'd just be out of place Elizabeth. So far, this place seemed very overwhelming. It was a giant school with a lot of different types of students in it. I had been in my castle my whole life, so I was kind of out of my comfort zone.
I noticed our door was still open, so I went to shut it. I saw a guy going into the room across the hall from us.
"Do guys room on this floor too?" I asked.
"Yep. Girls on one side of the hall and guys are on the other. And both bathrooms are down here on our end of the hall. I love it when there's a pack of boys leaving the showers. They don't seem to believe in shirts after bathing," Zoey said.
Victoria would love this. Too bad I didn't have my phone so I couldn't text her about this. I read online that phones were strictly forbidden here, and if you were caught with one you'd be expelled. I thought that was a little extreme, but what did I know. On the way here Steve told me that even if I had brought my phone, I wouldn't be able to use it. There was absolutely no cell service anywhere on the school's grounds and there wasn't any internet. So, I'd have to wait until the next time I saw Victoria to tell her about school, whenever that would be. But why were boys and girls all in the same hallway anyway? Hell, why were we all on the same floor? I feel like there was enough room in this school for the guys to room on a different floor. Not that I was complaining. It just seemed illogical to stuff us all in one area if there was more space in the castle.
Zoey suddenly hopped off of her bed and headed for the door.
"Where are you going?" Blair asked her.
"Dinner," Zoey said. "So, if you newbies wanna eat, you better follow me."